ESL New Year's Resolutions Lesson and Writing Craft

Setting New Year’s Resolutions for English Language Learners

The first day back after winter break can feel daunting for ESL teachers. How do you get students back into a learning mindset? Many of our English Language Learners (ELLs) struggle with self-expression, so helping them set New Year’s resolutions can be both a meaningful activity and an important teaching moment.

Research shows that goal setting is vital for students’ academic and personal growth. It encourages reflection, builds confidence, and empowers learners to focus on clear, actionable steps. For ELLs, who often face the dual challenge of learning a new language and adjusting to a new culture, setting achievable goals can provide a sense of purpose and accomplishment.

Why is goal setting important for ESL students?

According to a Education Corner, students who set specific goals are more likely to stay motivated and succeed. Setting resolutions helps ELLs practice essential language skills like writing, vocabulary building, and sentence structure, while fostering self-reflection. Additionally, goal setting ties into social-emotional learning, teaching students to balance academic, personal, and social aspirations.

Goal setting for English Language Learners

Setting goals is especially valuable for English Language Learners because it:

• Encourages personal growth (e.g., making new friends).
• Inspires academic progress (e.g., reading more books or pages independently in English).
• Promotes social well-being (e.g., spending less time on social media, volunteering, or practicing self-care).

Goal setting helps students develop focus, motivation, and confidence as they navigate learning a new language.

One way to incorporate New Year’s fun and ELL resolutions is to have students first talk about, then write or draw, their three goals: personal, academic, and social.

To support them, start by providing plenty of examples for each type of goal. Create a visual word bank or a list of words and expressions they can use to talk and write about their goals.

Next, give each student a circle template designed to resemble a New Year’s disco ball. Divide the template into three sections with headings: Personal, Academic, and Social. Provide sentence stems and a model example to guide them as they write about their goals.

Consider saving these goals for the next year to review and reflect on which ones they were able to achieve.

If you’d like a ready-made template and writing craft for New Year’s resolutions tailored for English Language Learners, click here: 

A fun, hands-on writing craft is perfect for ELLs! My updated New Year’s Resolutions for ESL Students activity simplifies the process with differentiated options for newcomers, beginners, and advanced students. It includes a word bank with goal ideas for academic, social, and personal categories, so even the most hesitant writers can participate. Older students can use a clean, modern writing template, while younger learners can glue pre-written goals onto a fun disco ball craft.

Once completed, these crafts make a wonderful bulletin board display, celebrating student aspirations for 2025!

For more goal-setting inspiration, check out Valentina Gonzalez's Personalizing Learning and ELLs or research on student motivation.

Goal setting can transform the classroom experience and show your ELLs how much they are capable of achieving—one step at a time. What goals will your students set this year?

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